IT IS a big week for Australia’s best young cricketers, with the Female Under 19 National Championships getting underway later today.

Taking place in Perth over the next week, 10 teams – ACT, Queensland, NSW Country, NSW Metro, Papua New Guinea Under 23s, South Australia, Tasmania, Vic Country, Vic Metro and Western Australia – will battle it out for the title and to see whether they can take it off reigning champions NSW Metro.

Each team will play six matches, four T20s and two one dayers, before a playoffs series that will all be one dayers.

Across the 10 teams, there are a number of faces that keen followers of women’s cricket in Australia will recognise.

For Queensland Lucy Hamilton will no doubt be one of the key bowlers, but may be rested for at least the opening day after flying across from Victoria after playing in yesterday’s WBBL Final.

Speaking of WBBL, a pair of Sixers team mates will also be suiting up for the tournament with 15 year old sensation Caoimhe Bray and young keeper Kate Pelle playing for NSW Country and NSW Metro respectively.

For South Australia, the two vice captains are Maggie Clark, who starred at the last Under 19 World Cup, and young Scorpion and Striker Eleanor Larosa.

Anyone who watched the T20 Spring Challenge a few months ago may recognise the name Mia Barwick, who was the 13 year old that joined the squad when Heather Graham had to fly over to join the senior World Cup squad. Barwick is the big name to watch in Tasmania’s squad for this tournament.

A duo of Melbourne Stars team mates will also be suiting up for their states this tournament.

Ines McKeon will be captaining the Western Australian side, and is coming off the back of an impressive debut WBBL season, meanwhile spinner Hasrat Gill will be suiting up for Vic Country.

Vic Metro’s squad has a number of players that have been around the pathway program in the state for a while, but one of the most interesting stories amongst that group is Amelie Gladman, who is also a pretty accomplished footballer and is seeking to get drafted into the AFL Women’s in a few weeks.

Fans can watch the tournament on Cricket Australia’s Youtube Channel and can follow along with the live scores here.

2024/25 Under 19 Female Championships Squads

ACT: Grace Lyons (c), Amy Hunter, Rachel Carroll, Stella Wilde (vc), Brienna Dillon, Amber Smith, Alana Horsfall, Alyse O’Brien, Lillian Harrison, Vivien Field, Laura Tarrant, Tia Slater, Chloe McGann, Dhruti Patel

Queensland: Amreen Kahlon, Catherine White, Chelsea Sonter, Eve Mollee, Grace Collins, Lilli Hamilton, Lily Bassingthwaighte, Lucinda Bourke, Lucy Hamilton, Mahli Rea, Mia Croucamp, Ruby Orchard, Trinity Doyle

NSW Country: Keisha Baldwin, Callee Black, Caoimhe Bray, Molly Dare, Ava Drury, Tara French, Emily Humphreys, Monique Krake, Kate McTaggart, Samira Mitchell, Sophie Parsons, Maddison Spence, Ella Tilburg, Hayley Zauch

NSW Metro: Karina Bell, Ella Briscoe, Olivia Callaghan, Samira Dimeglio, Lucy Finn, Gunisha Garg, Eliza Henry, Alex Mavros, Olivia Maxwell, Juliette Morton, Kate Pelle, Emily Powell, Jess Robertson, Lucy Wilson

Papua New Guinea: TBC

South Australia: Elizabeth Worthley (c), Eleanor Larosa (vc), Maggie Clark (vc), Sanigdha Bansal, Maddie Fielke, Ava Gaerth, Nicole Hobbs, Tahlia Keylock, Matilda Maitland, Ilona Melegh, Indira Panelli, Chloe Rosenzweig, Harriet Tyrer, Ajay Willoughby

Tasmania: Ava Curtis (c), Mia Barwick, Chloe Casey, Kate Cobern, Chloe Commane, Talia Heyward, Ashlee Kennedy, Shelby Leonard, Sarah Lovell, Jessica Ransley, Maggie Rogers, Josie Rose, Ella Scolyer, Hannah Scott

Victoria Country: Hasrat Gill, Yashoda Senarathne, Kamya Mishra, Grace Moyle, Indigo Noble, Charli McLennan, Matilda Pendergast, Sahana Tarini, Sara Kennedy, Bronte Leishman, Brooklyn Diwell, Thivyaa Mahendran, Ribhya Syan

Victoria Metro: Amelie O’Meara, Ira Aery, Amelie Gladman, Samara Dulvin, Mikayla Collins, Sarnsiree Plant, Noura Abdul Qader, Rituja Talekar, Shivani Narendran, Tanya Arul, Tegan Rule, Vaishnavi Munukutla, Zoe Samuel

Western Australia: Ines McKeon (c), Amelia Bartlett, Ella Dodgson, Tayla Flowers, Ash Kalaivanan, Veronica Keen, Natasha Kelsey, Molly Lincoln, Olivia McSweeney, Morgan Pires, Micayla Roelofse, Mahalia Upton, Tegan Williamson